One Pony's Tale: The Drake Chronicles Vol 10: The House Guest
by Dr-Lovekill
Summary: Up till now, Lieutenant Drake has faced terrorists, monsters, ghosts and serial killers. When Scootaloo comes to visit Rainbow Dash, he faces one of his greatest challenges yet: having three rambunctious girls in the house for a week! On Pranksgiving! A fun Drake story for all the fans.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

 _ **Hey everypony. I'm back with a new story as promised. In this one, you get to see Drake, Dash and Budder at home. Not chasing killers or working on a case, but enjoying more domestic adventures. This comes as a welcome breath of fresh air from all of the action they've been seeing in the last few installments. This will be much lighter than many of the previous stories, and I hope you all enjoy this one for what it is: more emphasis on the characters. Please review.**_

I want to begin by saying that I have seen many terrible things. I have seen death and destruction on a wholesale scale, and lived through it all. I in my numerous engagements in the cavalry, as well as in my detective work have been face to face with some of the most indescribably strange and horrible things anypony can imagine. But what I faced now was arguably worse than anything I had ever experienced before. I was faced with the prospect of having two teenage fillies under one roof, and when I heard the news that Scootaloo would be staying with us for a week, my first thought was of how much like Dashie and/or my sister was she going to be. My second was whether or not the house would still be standing after a week.

It all started one day in spring. The weather had just started to turn warm, and even though we hadn't had a case in a few months, we'd spent the winter well, fighting off boredom with trips to the theater, random sword-fighting practice in the house, and going out shopping. I had just started writing my memoirs, Dash had a stack of adventure novels to catch up on, and Budder had her video games, including one strange one I never could understand where she had to dig out rock, build a city and fight monsters, and everything was blocky and pixelated. We had little to do, so when Rainbow Dash got a letter from her young friend Scootaloo, asking if she could come visit, she asked me, and I said yes.

"Awesome!" Dash exclaimed, grinning happily. "This is gonna be so cool, Drake! Dude, you're gonna love Scootaloo."

"And I've been wantin' to meet her like...forever now." Budder added. "She really as cool as you say she is?"

"Heh...twenty _percent_ cooler...at least." Dash replied.

"Not as cool as Aunt Shadow though...she has knives." My sister grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys know we don't have a guest bedroom, right?" I asked. "Where's she gonna stay...my office...basement maybe..."

"Aw, she can stay in my room with me." Budder stated. "I never get to have sleepovers anymore."

"Yeah, since you and Echo mixed friggin' guava juice, kiwis and raw coffee beans in my blender and ended up staying up all night." I reminded her. She smiled meekly.

"It was really fun though..." She countered, like that made their trespasses any less severe.

"You two used all the toilet paper in the house to make paper mache...and how it ended up in the toilet, I STILL don't know." I said. Budder giggled. "And I still ain't forgiven you for sticking my Beryl Crow records to the wall with grape jelly." I paused for a moment, still trying to figure out the motive behind that one.

"We were really...like...cranked up on the coffee beans."

"No kidding!" I said back. "Alright, she can stay with you in your room, but no coffee after dinner, and NO getting brain farts and painting your room black again!" Budder giggled, a sign that she would probably heed my warning, but that my wrath was a complete waste.

"I'm gonna send her a letter like right now." Dash said, changing the subject away from my sister's case history of destructive sleepovers. "Love you."

I understood that Dashie hadn't seen the foal in a long time, and Scootaloo thought of my marefriend as a big sister. It seemed like a great idea at the time. Besides, I thought it might be good for my sister to have somepony closer to her own age to hang out with. That is to say somepony other than Shadow, who dropped in for a visit every couple of weeks, either using a window, or just appearing in a dark corner somewhere. I liked the undead assassin...I really did, and she was part of our strange little family, but Budder needed...somepony a little less dark for a companion. Dark, and stab-happy...

It wasn't until long after Dash had written a letter back to Scootaloo, sealed it, and sent it off with the post that I started having dark thoughts of the young filly and my sister riding scooters down the stairs, loud music all night...and worst of all... _that_ time of year was coming _._ Scootaloo was supposedly Dash's little protege. That terrified me. All three of them would be in the house with me on Pranksgiving Day...there would be no safe place here.

I stepped into our large, stone-tiled shower, and adjusted the water to a comfortable warmth before turning on the shower head. Under the spattering rain of the fixture, I ran a hoof through my messy black mane. It had been a hell of a year. The Gala assignment, with its spoiled brats, high-toned decadence and evil walking trees...that had been fun. I turned around and let the warm water run off my back and down my flanks. Then there was the Shadow case...I had seen the depth of government intrigue and conspiracy elevated to a new high. I had made a friend out of a killer, an avenging angel that, because of me, now worked as a covert assassin for the Intelligence ponies. There was the little incident where I had to accompany my little sister to Baltimare to investigate the Mayoral mansion because a phantom stallion in a top hat was keeping the city leader up all night. What a year...

 _ **Okay, a little short, I know. This will be a shorter story than the others, and the chapters may be a little shorter than normal as well. If you think it's starting out a little dull, I assure you all that the plot will pick up henceforth and forthwith. I will make every attempt to get chapter two up by tomorrow evening. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony.**_


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

 _ **Hey everypony, I'm back with the second chapter as promised. Hopefully, you will all enjoy this little slice of life story. I say that because (spoiler alert) things are going to get pretty dark pretty fast after this installment. But for now, please enjoy the levity. Like, fav, and review. The series is almost over, and I want this anthology to be a lasting legacy. Thanks for your time, now here's the story.**_

A little more than a week later, I was sitting in the modern-furnished parlor with Dashie, lounging in a recliner as I scribbled some notes for my memoirs. Dash was laying in one of her impossible positions on the comfortable sofa, reading a comic book as she drank a soda. Budder was in her room, doing whatever it was that Budder did in her room. I was still generally cautious about going into that little foal's little goth-medieval dungeon, for fear of what strange and confusing kind of tomfoolery I was going to see. I saved myself much vexation by giving my sister her privacy.

"I'm gonna go grab an apple. Want anything from the kitchen?" I offered, standing and stretching my back.

"Another cherry soda, sweetie?" My rainbow-maned marefriend said, not looking up from her comic. I walked from the parlor, just in time to hear a knock at the front door. I trotted over and pulled open the oak door to see a teenage pegasus filly standing on my doorstep. She had an orange coat with a purple mane and light purple eyes. From what Dash had told me about Scootaloo, I assumed immediately that this was our long-awaited guest.

"Um...hi..." The filly said nervously.

"Scootaloo, I presume?" I greeted in a friendly tone.

"Yep." Is all she replied, then gave me a disarming smile.

"Well I'm Drake. I'm sure you've heard all about me." she nodded. "Come on in and make yourself at home. Dashie's in the parlor. I'm sure you can't wait to see her."

"Totally!" Scootaloo answered. She stepped into the entryway, paused, and looked around. "Wooaahhhh...this is your house?"

"Well...mine and Dash's, yeah." I said nonchalantly, not prepared for her to be so shocked by my home.

"The whole _thing_?" The teenage filly questioned. I shot her a confused look as I led her toward the left parlor.

"You...don't see a lot of big houses, do ya?" I chuckled.

"Naw...I have a little bedroom, and that's it." The foal replied. I remembered that Dash had told me about Scootaloo. She was an orphan, and lived in a privately-run home in Ponyville. Being in a small private orphanage instead of a large and impersonal government-run facility, Scootaloo's life was a good deal better than my sister's had been before I found her. She was allowed to leave the house during the day to go to school and play with other foals. She was allowed to stay with friends as long as the mare running the home knew where she was, and who she was staying with. She also had her own small bedroom at the home, which was an old manor home owned by a kind, elderly widow. I remembered Budder's reaction to seeing this house for the first time, and it began to make sense.

"Hey kiddo!" Rainbow Dash called as her young friend entered the parlor. The two ran up and hugged one another. "How ya been?"

"Well...it's been really booooring since you moved away." Scootaloo began. "I mean, me and Sweetie Belle can always find something fun to do, but it's just not the same, you know?"

"I Know what you mean." My marefriend nodded. "What have you been up to since I was in Ponyville last, squirt?"

"Not much, just the same old-same old. Um...I got a new scooter for Hearthswarming. Uh...Silver Spoon got braces, and Diamond Tiara kept making fun of her, so they don't hang out anymore. Silver Spoon is actually kind of a nice pony now. Oh, and me and Sweetie Belle have a new friend named Button Mash. He's a little younger than us, and he's way into video games and stuff." Scootaloo continued as Dashie listened. I listened to, mainly to learn as much as I could about the filly. "I think him and Sweetie Bell got somethin' goin' on, if ya know what I mean." She said, nudging Dash with a wink. Dash grinned conspiratorially, and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey sis?" I called up the stairs. "You wanna meet Scootaloo?" The next thing I knew, Budder was descending the staircase two stairs at a time. She got most of the way down, and whether it was to save time, to be goofy, or to try and impress our house guest, I don't know, but she jumped onto the railing and tried to slide the rest of the way down. She managed to get almost to the bottom, when she lost her balance and fell onto the staircase, thumping her way down the rest of the steps noisily.

"Um...geez...you alright?" I asked, looking down on the pile of pony laying at my forehooves. She let out a laugh.

"I bruised my butt!" My sister chortled.

"Oh good god." I groaned.

"Oh cool, are you Budder Sabre?" Scootaloo asked, walking up. My sister climbed to her hooves and grinned.

"I guess." She returned. "You're Scootaloo?"

"Uh-huh! Wait...is it true that you hunt ghosts and monsters and stuff? That's what Rainbow Dash says."

"Yep! I'm a paranormal investigator, and I help bubby on his cases and stuff too!"

"Awwwesooommmme!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "So you guys really are as epically cool as Dash said you were!"

"Did Dash tell you that Drake is the most awesome detective in the world?" Budder bragged. "He goes on secret missions for the princesses and everything." I face-hoofed.

"Angel...how many times do I have to tell you..." I groaned. "They're not secret missions if you keep telling everypony they're secret missions..." This made Budder and Scootaloo giggle. I sighed, defeated yet again by children. "You have any luggage?" I asked the newcomer.

"Huh? Oh, not really, just my scooter and a bag." She answered.

"Alright. Sis, you wanna help her with her things? Take her to her...lodgings. You'll be staying in my sister's room, Scootaloo. That means be good, and don't be a bad influence."

"I won't." Scootaloo said respectfully.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to _you_..."

 _ **And so Scootaloo is staying with the Sabre family for a while. What will come of this? It's a simple mathematical equation: add Rainbow Dash, Budder and Scootaloo, and multiply by Pranksgiving Day. Of this number, you take away Drake's sanity and peace and quiet, and you end up with some pretty funny moments. I will try to have the next chapter up late tonight or tomorrow afternoon, depending on how I feel. So until then, thank you all for reading, and please leave me your questions and comments. Be back with the next chapter soon, everypony. -Drake**_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 _ **Hello again, everypony. Sorry for not getting this chapter up as soon as I had intended, but it was just difficult to write. But it's finally here, and I'm sure a couple of you have been waiting to see the next chapter get here, so I'll leave you to it. As always, I hope you all enjoy, and please send reviews.**_

I awoke and glanced at the clock on the night stand, my ritual every morning. It was eleven o'clock. I turned over to find Dashie had already gotten up...once again, as usual. I climbed out of bed, and moved to the door. I stopped. It dawned on me that today was _the day_. I remembered what had happened last year, and cautiously reached for the door knob. It turned easily, and the door wasn't stuck like it had been last year. Confident that Dash and Budder had forgotten what day it was, and were concentrating on being good hosts to our young guest, I threw open the bedroom door, and let out a choked scream before falling over backwards.

It was what the foals call a jumpscare, okay? I wasn't terrified or even mildly frightened. I was shocked to see Death standing just outside my bedroom door, staring at me. The sight of the Grim Reaper himself standing before me was something I did not expect. So I stumbled over myself. By the time the surprise had worn off, Dashie had removed the hideous skull mask and black robe, and was laughing so hard she couldn't talk, and ended up falling to the floor, kicking air.

"Dash...for the love of Hell and Damnation...you tryin' to give me a heart attack?" I said, my heart rate starting to slow.

"Oh, chillax Drake..." Dash giggled. "It's Pranksgiving day, man!"

"We never did this crap in the cavalry..." I muttered. "And Death? Like I don't have to face him all the time anyway?"

"Aww, come on, it's classic!" Dashie argued. She rolled her magenta eyes and groaned. "You're such a wet blanket, sweetheart..."

"Hey Bubby." My sister greeted sweetly as I walked into our kitchen. I shot her a suspicious look as she sat next to Scootaloo, both of them drinking chocolate milk. Scootaloo looked up at me and smiled.

"Um...no pratfall, sis?" I asked. "No big elaborate traps for me?"

"I've been hanging out with Scootaloo, bub." My sister returned. "I haven't had _time_ to build a big boobytrap like I did last year."

"Lucky for _me_..." I commented, pouring myself a cup of coffee. I walked to my chair, directly across from the two teenage fillies.

"So whaddya wanna do today, Daaaraaaake?" My sister asked.

"I dunno." I shrugged, pulling out my chair as I carried out my breakfast conversation with Budder and out young guest. "What do you guys want to..." I was interrupted by the sound of loud flatulence as I sat down. I froze, and for several moments, I did not move. I just sat there, giving my little sister a blank, emotionless stare as she snickered into her hooves. Finally, I pulled the whoopee cushion from underneath my flank, and held it up incredulously. "Really?" She burst out laughing.

"I didn't have time for anything bigger..." She laughed. "But you...you fell for it...again!" I held the offending prank in front of my muzzle.

"I _thought_ I threw this thing out..." I commented.

"You did. That's a new one." She answered. I rolled my eyes and tossed the whoopee cushion across the room.

"She thought about putting fake poop in your coffee mug." Scootaloo confessed.

"That's a death sentence." I growled. The filly cringed. "Just kidding, you gotta get used to how I am."

"Yeah, bub acts like he's gonna tear somepony's head off most of the time, but he's usually joking. Usually..."

"Oh." Scootaloo said. She smiled. "I like you guys." She added. "I wish you lived in Ponyville so we could hang out all the time." I saw my sister grin nervously and look down at the table, and raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was up to, what could cause that particular emotional response. Before I could mull it over too much, there was a knock at the kitchen door.

"Come in." I stated, watching the door as it opened, and a familiar tan stallion entered, wearing a dark blue police uniform with gold bars on the collar.

"Captain Glock, long time no see." I greeted the head of the local police precinct. He took off his hat. "Grab a cup of joe and a chair." He looked around the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee before sitting beside me at the table.

"Well, I got a criminal case, and I need some help." He began "I know you're the go-to pony for solving the unsolvable."

"I'll help if I can...what you got?" I asked. He pulled a small bag of bits from the inside pocket of his jacket, and handed them to me.

"A half a million bit ring was stolen from one of the more...affluent...mares in the city. We've investigated, but turned up no real leads. She's really insistent about us finding the ring, and I don't want her goin' around, slandering my precinct and my officers for not being able to find a thief, you know?"

"Hm. Sounds like a problem. You know how whiny these rich types can get." I stated. "Well, details, captain. I can't build a wall without bricks, I need details."

"Her husband bought her the ring about a month ago." Captain Glock explained. "Shortly after they were married, actually. She had it for two weeks, and wore it a couple a' times, to some art exhibition, to a fancy dinner party, and to the theater. Well, about two weeks ago, she went to get her ring from the jewelry box in her room, and it was gone, along with a pair of diamond earrings worth about a hundred thousand."

"Six hundred thousand in jewels..." I repeated, placing that sum into the equation. Meanwhile, my sister and Scootaloo watched the crime drama unfold.

"The only ponies with access to the bedroom were the mare, her husband and the household staff."

"Of course you questioned them." I stated.

"Yes. The cook, the two maids and the butler were interrogated, but they all swear they didn't do it. They all have an alibi in each other too. One maid had the day off. The cook says the butler was downstairs all day, and the butler says that the other maid was cleaning the dining room and study that morning."

"Crime scene." I pressed. "Windows...doors..."

"Windows were locked, and nothing looked tampered with." Glock replied. "The mare's bedroom is on the second floor. The door was locked until she went into the room. No sign that anypony was going through drawers or anything like that."

"Was there more jewelry in the box?" I asked.

"Yeah, there was...and that's what's kind of confusing." The police captain answered. "There was an emerald brooch, a diamond necklace, and another ring worth about fifty grand, not to mention a few smaller pieces. Why didn't the thief take all of it?"

"They either knew exactly what they were after, or needed that exact amount." I said. I noticed the look on his face. "Alright, look at it like this...why _didn't_ the thief make off with the whole box? Well, they either knew which pieces were the most expensive, and went for those, or they wanted to steal specifically those pieces because they didn't _need_ to steal the others. Both possibilities mean they knew what was in the box, and where the box was. This means that it had to be somepony in the house." I thought for a moment. "The husband pressing to find the jewelry?"

"No, just his wife. It was her stuff though..."

"Really?" I returned dryly. "I reckon he's the one that bought 'em, and that makes them his, right? And jewelry that expensive, he no doubt took out an insurance policy on them in case they went missing. What's his name?"

"Archer Hayfield." Captain Glock answered. "The shipping tycoon."

"HA!" I laughed. "I solved your case then." I stated.

"How?" Glock demanded.

"Insurance fraud, plain and simple." I said. "Hayfield gambles on dog races way too much for somepony that's horrible at it. Hayfield Transit took a hit last month when his government contract expired and they decided to go with a cheaper outfit. Put two and two together. He has gambling debts, needs money, and he had his trophy wife's crown jewels insured for a king's ransom. Investigate Hayfield, and you find your thief."

"Sweet Celestia..." Glock exclaimed. "I don't know how you do what you do, but I'll be damned if you don't do it." I grinned.

"I have a lot rattling around up here..." I said, tapping my head. "Sometimes, something useful falls out."

"You're the strangest detective I've ever met..." The police pony stated. "But the smartest at the same time. I'm gonna go get my officers on this right now." He stood and put his hat back on.

"You do that." I replied. "I'm sure I'll be reading about the results in the paper soon." He walked out the door, and I returned to my conversation.

"Sorry about that, where were we now?"

"Wait...did you just solve a case without leaving the house?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well...yeah, I guess." I shrugged. "What the hay is Dashie doing? I wanna go out and get some brunch."

"Does this happen a lot?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yep." My sister answered.

"Cool!"

 _ **So ends chapter three. This chapter and the next both take place during Pranksgiving, so don't think for a moment that Drake is getting off this easy. And it looks like Scootaloo feels like she's on another planet being at Drake's house at this point, and it's sure to only get worse. I know you want the next chapter up soon, and I will try my best to get it written and posted either tonight or tomorrow morning. Until then, thanks for reading, everypony. -Drake**_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

 _ **Hey everypony, loyal readers and followers alike. I told you I'd be back soon with the next chapter, didn't I? I know this story is a little different than all of the others in the series, and in case you've followed these stories since the beginning and feel that I may be losing my edge on writing these volumes, I assure you, that's not the case. This particular story will be wrapped up two or three chapters after this one, after which I will begin Volume 11, which is just as sordid as Volume 2 and just as dark as Volume 3, maybe more so. Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying this story, and continue to follow Drake's saga as we near the conclusion. So here's chapter 4, please review.**_

"You ever been to a big city before, Scootaloo?" I asked as we stepped off of the train at the large metropolitan train station.

"Yeah, like a couple of times." Scootaloo answered. "I went to The Crystal Kingdom during the Games! And I've been to Canterlot before too, for a royal wedding. There was changelings and a big fight and everything!"

"Wow...you're a well-traveled little foal, ain't you?" I chuckled. "Hey Dashie, you never told me your little protege was so...involved in everything."

"Eh, 'course she is." Rainbow Dash replied with a smug grin. "When you hang out with awesome, it tends to rub off."

"Oh, is that how _you_ got so awesome?" I asked cynically. My marefriend shot me a questioning glance, and I smiled. "Hangin' out with _me_ all the time and everything..."

"Oh shut up." She shot back, sticking out her tongue.

"So, we're in Manehattan. Where do you guys wanna eat?" I asked as we passed by some tall office buildings.

"Dunno." My sister answered as usual.

"Where do _you_ wanna eat, Drake?" Dashie offered.

"Well..." I thought. "La Symphonia du Fromage?"

"Ew...that Prench place with all the runny, smelly cheese?" Dash countered. "Yuck!"

"Ain't my fault you lack a taste for Pont l'Eveque!" I returned.

"Is that the crumbly junk that smells like butt and garbage?" my marefriend asked.

"Oui, ma chere." I answered. "Es tres bon!"

"You like the grossest food, sweetheart." She sighed. I should have been paying closer attention to what was going on around me. I always preached about situational awareness, and if I had taken my own advice instead of arguing about moldy cheese, what happened next could have been averted.

"Snake!" My sister exclaimed. The next thing I knew, a long, thin, writhing mass of evil had fallen upon me in all it's horror. The next sound I made was an unnatural, guttural noise that sounded something like:

"Ughhhhhhheeewwwwwwuuhhhhhh!" Followed by my ungracefully throwing the serpent off of my back onto the sidewalk. I leaped to action, ready to grab the nearest weapon and slay the vile wyrm...that turned out to be a yard-long piece of rope. "ARRRGGGHHH!" I growled in consternation. Budder and Dash let out a bout of wild laughter. In anger, I seized the fake snake, and began to viciously beat it against the side of the building we stood beside. I stopped when I realized that I had drawn a small crowd of onlookers, ponies no doubt curious as to why a stallion in a cavalry slouch hat was beating the Hell out of an office building with a piece of rope. I felt my face grow warm, and tossed the cordage away innocently before walking away. My marefriend and my sister laughed even harder.

"I hate this damned holiday..." I grumbled, sulking down the sidewalk.

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's so much fun!"

"Not when you're the butt of the jokes..." I mumbled.

"Heh. You said 'butt'." Budder snickered.

"Takes one to know one." I shot back. "Maison Crepe! That's where we're eatin'."

"Alright, fine with me." Dash shrugged.

After lunch at the restaurant, which was a Pranksgiving joke on my part (Maison Crepe really meant 'Pancake House', so essentially, we had traveled an hour to eat flapjacks), we went shopping in the city, then headed home. I'd had about enough of Dash and Budder's impractical jokes, and decided to pull one of my own. It took the entire trip home to figure out how I was going to do it.

Once home, Budder, Scootaoo and Dash all went upstairs to put away all of the things they'd bought in Manehattan. I knew Dash would want to take a shower, which gave me about thirty minutes. Budder had bought a new book on ghosts and they each got a set of copper dowsing rods, and I knew my sister would be showing Scootaloo how to hunt ghosts for a little while. As quickly and expertly as I could, I grabbed my materials and spent the next ten minutes getting everything ready. A few minutes after I was finished, Dash came down the stairs. The time had finally arrived.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked.

"I dunno. I think I'm gonna go relax a bit and read." Oh, so predictable, sweetheart...

As I walked into the parlor behind her, Rainbow Dash didn't see me covertly reach down and set the trip wire across the doorway. Once everything was in place, I set my plan into motion. Dash plopped down on her favorite spot on the sofa, and reached for her book on the end table. When she pulled it toward her, the string connecting the book to the table pulled taut, setting off the small gunpowder friction charge I had attached, and making a loud POP. Dash jumped, startled at the sound, then noticed the string hanging from her book. She turned to me with an incredulous look on her face.

"Pranksgiving's a bitch, ain't it?" I smiled.

"Ugh, Drake...nice try and all, but you gotta learn how to play a good joke on somepony." Dash stated sympathetically.

"I thought it was pretty good." I said defensively.

"Well, it _did_ kinda surprise me..." She admitted. "But the delivery wasn't there, ya know? It's all about the technique. Right Budder?!"

"Say what?" Budder asked, walking into the room.

"I was just sayin' that Drake has to work on his technique..."

"OH HOLY CRAP!" My sister cried out as dozens of spiders rained down upon her. She fought the rain of eight-legged attackers, gasping for breath as she batted them off."NONONO!" She screamed.

"Hey sis." I stated. She looked at me. "Happy Pranksgiving, angel." I said with an evil grin. She looked down at the tripwire she'd triggered, and above at the bucket hanging upside-down over the doorway. Tears filled her blue eyes before she let out a keening wail and ran through the house to the formal parlor, where she dove onto the antique sofa and buried herself in pillows. Rainbow Dash looked down at the pile of spiders, and cautiously picked one up.

"Rubber spiders?" She queried, squeezing one of the arachnids. She giggled little. "Geez, Drake...that was a good joke, I have to admit, but you know how afraid of spiders she is..."

"Blowback from the snake offensive." I shrugged. "Get the broom and sweep these things up, and I'll go check on her, alright?"

"I'm gonna go talk to Budder too." Scootaloo offered, trotting off toward the parlor. I nodded. Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen, where a few seconds later, I heard a mechanism release, followed by Dashie's shocked cry. Budder and Scootaloo came running, and I simply walked to the room, my head held high.

In the kitchen, Dashie was suspended upside-down from the ceiling, a rope holding all four of her hooves as she swung gently, a pissed-off look on her face. When she saw me, the look became more intense, and my grin became larger.

"Drake?! Did you do this?" She demanded.

"Heheheheh..." I chuckled. "Pretty good booby trap, huh? Learned it in military academy." Budder giggled.

"That was a good one, bub." She laughed.

"I know." I replied.

"Get me down!" My marefriend exclaimed.

"Oh alright..." I sighed. "Sis, wanna help me out with these ropes, so Dash will stop hanging around the house."

"Yeah, I'll get a knife." My sister answered, walking to the knife drawer near the sink.

"That's not funny!" Dashie pouted.

"Huh...I thought it pretty funny..." I mused.

"WAAAAHHHHHH!" Budder screamed as she opened the drawer, only to see a creepy-looking doll with holes for eyes staring back at her. She slammed the drawer and turned around, hyperventilating. I shrugged innocently and walked over to the wall beside the cupboard. There, I simply untied a knot in the rope, and using the pulley system I had built, lowered Rainbow Dash to the ground gently. She kicked out of the loop in the rope and stood.

"Sans armes, ni haine, ni violence." I stated philosophically. I glanced between my marefriend and my sister. "Truce?" Dash's look softened, and she scoffed.

"Alright...truce." She replied.

"Yeeaahhh..." Budder sighed. "I think you beat both of us..." She thought for a moment. "Wait...if Dash hadn't hollered for me, then I wouldn't have hit that spider trap..."

"Yeah..." Dash thought. "And the spiders was why you sent me to get the broom, and the broom triggered the booby trap..."

"And the doll..." Budder whispered. "What the crap?! Did you actually plan for all of this to happen like it did?"

"Yep." I said smugly. "I knew everything you two were gonna do, and set my traps based on what you hadn't done yet."

"Dude..." Dash muttered.

"You are so awesome!" Scootaloo said, wonderstruck. "You think you can teach me how to pull pranks like that?"

"Hey!" Dash interjected. "I'm still the queen of Pranksgiving here!"

"Yeah, you totally are..." Scootaloo replied. "But I think Drake's the _king_."

 _ **So ends Pranksgiving day, and after being the victim of so many pratfalls and tricks, Drake finally beat Dash and Budder at their own game. I hope you all liked this chapter, and got at least a couple of laughs out of it. I will try to return with the next chapter tomorrow afternoon. It all depends on how lazy I feel, and what I have to do tomorrow as to when I can manage to get it written. Till then, thanks for reading, everypony. Reviews, please. -Drake**_


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

 _ **Hey everypony. Sorry for the slight delay. Of course, my delays in posting are becoming the new normal at this point. If I hadn't gone to the gym for three hours yesterday, spent the whole day out, and then had crap to do today, I may have had this chapter up sooner. But here it is finally, enjoy and please review.**_

The next two days were filled with a combination of the four of us hanging around the house, and me having to back Budder up on whether or not some of the seemingly incredible things she was telling Scootaloo about me were true. I never got used to my sister talking about me like I was some kind of superhero or something. And what's more, Scootaloo came to the conclusion that since her hero Rainbow Dash was so awesome, and since I was so awesome, that the only logical conclusion was that we were the most amazingly awesome family that had ever lived, and that my little sister was the progeny of pure cool.

Then, on the third day after the Pranksgiving incident, we had another visitor drop in on us. A few minutes after breakfast (Which was actually at eleven thanks to our sleeping in), the four of us were in the family parlor, where I was telling the young fillies a story about the time I was a roommate with Shining Armor. I was at the part of the tale where I had just gotten out of combat survival class, and I had walked into our dorm covered in mud and leaves.

"Oh Drake...for the love of Celestia...go take a shower now!" I said, mockingly doing an impression of the aristocratic pony, and making Budder, Scootaloo and Dashie giggle.

"I like your stories." A voice stated. I looked to the doorway to see our favorite undead government assassin standing there, a smirk on her face. Shadow walked into the room, wearing her tight-fitting black and red suit. "Thought I'd come for a visit..." She noticed Scootaloo sitting beside my sister. "Didn't know ya had company."

"Oh...um...this is Scootaloo, she's a friend of Rainbow Dash." I explained. "This is..." I thought for a quick moment, formulating a good impromptu cover story. "This is mine and Budder's..."

"Aunt Shade!" Budder grinned, trotting up to Shadow and hugging her. I was once again proud of my sister. She was at least _learning_ OPSEC. And fortunately, our friend got the idea, and played along.

"Hey Bud." Shadow greeted. "I just came back from a...business meeting...in Coltenhagen."

"Oh...how was it?" I asked.

"Ugh. That... _mechanic_ was impossible to track down. Took me forever to fu...friggin'...um...liquidate the assets for the company, you know?"

"That's how it goes sometimes..." I commented.

"So...what do you do?" Scootaloo asked. Shadow grinned innocently at the filly, and I shot the killer a nervous shrug.

"Well...I..." Shadow began. "It's really like...complicated, you know? I guess I go around the world and...well, I work for the government, right?" Scootaloo shook her head. "And I inspect all these products, like all over the world. If somepony is making something dangerous...that could hurt ponies, I have to go...um...shut them down."

"Sounds really boring..." Scootaloo said. "Except for the whole traveling around the world part."

"I dunno...it can be pretty fun..." Shadow smiled. "Oh, and Budder? I picked you up something over there." She reached into a small bag and pulled out a rectangular black sheath containing three strange-looking knives. "Still into blades, right?"

"Heck yeah!" My sister answered, taking the gift. She pulled one of the long, thin weapons out of the sheath.

"They're custom-made combat scalpels." Shadow explained. "Got 'em off a...a doctor that likes his weapons. Be careful with those though, they're totally sharp as razors, man." Budder gave her a big grin.

"They're awesome!" She exclaimed. "I love 'em!"

"Heh. Thought you would. We're both knife girls." Shadow smiled. She looked around the room and sighed. "Well, guess I'll get outta here, Drake. I'll let ya hang out with all these girls, heheheh." I rolled my eyes.

" _You're_ a girl." I reminded her.

"Your point?" She returned smugly. I smiled and shook my head.

"You take care, you hear?" I stated. I leaned in and gave shadow a friendly hug. "Come back in a few days...we can talk about your meeting with the...mechanic then, alright?" I whispered into her ear."

"Yep." She replied. "See you guys later."

"Bye aunt Shade." Budder said. "Can't wait to see ya again." Shadow smiled, and walked out of the room. The back door opened and closed. Budder was examining one of the knives, when Scootaloo walked up beside her.

"Geez Budder, you have the coolest family in the world!" The purple-maned filly commented to my sister. "I wish I could live here with you." Budder grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah...that would be awesome..." She said with a warm smile. "Oh, Bub? Is it cool if me and Scootaloo go up to my room and hang out for a while? I wanna show her some more of my knife collection and stuff..."

"Dunno why you're asking...it's your room." I replied. "Just be down for dinner about five."

"Okay!" My sister chirped before leading Scootaloo up the stairs quickly. I quoted her six hours, but honestly didn't think they'd really be up there the _whole time_. By the time three rolled around, Dashie was snoring on the couch, a _'Trotting Dead'_ comic on her face. I killed sometime by doing the few dished in the sink, and straightening up the parlors. Since I had to take a few books back to my study upstairs, and it was already three-thirty, I decided to drop in and see what the children were up to. As I walked to my sister's door, I heard the most gratuitous and girly giggles emanating from the room. I raised an eyebrow, and knocked.

"That's an inordinate amount of giggling comin' outta there!" I called jokingly. The laughter stopped. A few seconds later, a small gap in Budder's door opened. My sister peeked out at me from the crack.

"The heck _that_ word mean?" She asked, annoyed.

"Inordinate?" I answered. "Like...over the top...excessive...extreme, you know?"

"Nahhh...this is about the _normal_ amount of giggling." She sighed. "What did ya want?"

"Meh...I just wanted to come see what you girls were up to." I replied. "Ain't seen you since breakfast."

"We're fiiiiinnnne bub..." Budder groaned.

"Okay...well...I'll leave you alone then." I said. I'll make dinner in an hour or so."

"'Kay bub." My sister replied. The door closed, and I shrugged, somewhat bewildered at having been iced out.

"Ugh...teenagers..." I muttered, shaking my head as I walked away from Budder's room. I made my way down the stairs to the formal parlor, and poured myself a small glass of twelve year old single malt scotch, and sat back on the sofa. Dashie was busy with her evening nap, and Budder was doing private, probably insidious teenager stuff with Scootaloo. So I sipped my expensive alcohol and moped in the parlor for half an hour, until Rainbow Dash walked in, yawning away any remainder of her sleep.

"What's up, Drake?" She asked, plopping down beside me. I lowered the book _'Historic Cavalry Battles of Equestria'_ , and shrugged.

"Bored silly." I replied. "I think I need to invest in more things to do in this house...a piano maybe...or more books or somethin'."

"Where's Budder and Scootaloo?" Dash queried, looking around the room like they would be there for some reason.

"Eh, they're bein' typical teens and assin' around in Budder's room." I explained tactfully.

"Wanna start dinner?" Dash asked. "I'm starving." I grinned playfully.

"All that sleeping works up an appetite, don't it?" I asked.

"Aw shut it..." My marefriend shot back, rolling her magenta eyes.

"Heh. All that eatin' and sleepin'...you're starting to put on some girth there, sweetheart." I added. Rainbow Dash looked down at her stomach.

"I am not!" She argued. I began gently poking her gut.

"I don't know what is _is_ , professor..." I stated in mock-fascination. Dashie picked up a small throw pillow and hit me with it. I laughed.

"Alright, alright...I'll go put on some grub. You go get the girls."

 _ **Not much to say other than I'll try to have the next chapter up late tonight. Hope you all likes this one. Happy Thanksgiving, all! -Drake**_


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

 _ **I'm back with the final chapter of volume 10, everypony! I know this was a short one, but a nice little story nonetheless, I think. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review.**_

I was sitting in the formal parlor, a glass of white wine in one hoof, and a book of poetry in the other. It was my daily zen moment, my ritual of relaxing a little and clearing my mind of all outside pollution. It lasted about five minutes before I heard the sound of raucous laughter coming from the next room. When I walked into the family room, both Scootaloo and my sister were laying in the floor, snickering and laughing, my sister's face red with apparent embarrassment and from the violent outburst of chortling. Whatever they were discussing, it was obviously entertaining. I finally had to ask.

"What the heck are you two hyenas laughing about now?" I asked.

"Button's mom." My sister said immediately.

"Shut uuuuup!" Scootaloo squeaked, nudging Budder. They both giggled loudly.

"Uh-huh..." I mused. "Sorry I...asked?" I walked away from...whatever kind of conversation the two teens were having. Whatever this Button pony's mother had done was either so humiliating or so assinine that I probably didn't even want to know about it.

The next day, it was time for our young guest to return to Ponyville. I had to admit that it was gonna be quieter in the house. Scootaloo was really a lot like Dashie in one regard...she sure made things less boring. I made my world-famous flapjacks, and we ate breakfast together one last time before the filly packed up her small bit of luggage, and we went with her to see her off. As we approached the train station, we began to say our goodbyes.

"Mmmm...you really have to leave this soon?" Budder asked sadly.

"Yeaahhhh...I could only come here for a week..." Scootaloo said back. "But I'll try to come back when I can."

"I'm...I'm gonna miss you..." My sister said emotionally to Scootaloo before giving her a big hug.

"I'll miss you too." The filly returned. "You'll write to me, right?"

"Like every chance I can." Budder answered.

"Me too." Scootaloo stated.

"It's been good hangin' with ya again, kid." Dashie said affectionately, the next in line to hug Scootaloo.

"You too. I'll miss my big sis."

"Well you can come back and visit anytime you want." I said. I gave her a mischevous grin. "I'll show you how to _really_ prank somepony, and you can help me get these two good."

"You can count on that!" She said cheerfully. "Drake and Rainbow Dash...the King and Queen of Pranksgiving!"

"Oh, tell all my friends in Ponyville I said hi." Dash added. "Especially the girls. We'll have to come visit everypony real soon."

"I'd love that!" Scootaloo smiled.

"All aboard!" A conductor called from down the short line of passenger cars. The train blew it's whistle twice.

"Bye guys." Scootaloo said as she picked up her bag and scooter and climbed aboard the train. "I'll write you soon as I can!"

"Bye!" Dash and Budder called back. After a few moments, the train let out a long whistle, and began to move slowly out of the station.

My sister always got so emotionally attatched to ponies she got close to. Nothing could ever match how attatched she was to me...except maybe a tumor...but she felt very strongly about anypony she liked. Scootaloo had only been here a week, and already my sister was depressed about her leaving. I could tell that they had grown close, it was obvious. I smiled as I held Budder in a warm embrace.

"You two really connected, didn't you?" I asked softly.

"Yeah..." she sighed. "We...we really did..."

"I know you miss her, but you'll see her again...you know that." I whispered.

"I know..." My sis replied.

"And I'm sure she'll write to you soon as she gets back to Ponyville. And you know, meanwhile...you have me and Dash..." She wrapped her forelegs around mine and sniffed. "Even though I can be pretty boring sometimes."

"No...you're never boring, Drake..." Budder argued. "You're my best friend..."

"Heh. And you're mine too." I said. "You know, I'm a lucky stallion. My little sister and my marefriend are also my best friends. I guess that's why my life is so great, you know? Now come on sis. Let's get some ice cream and go home, okay?" Budder smiled a little, and nodded. With our young friend's train chugging off into the distance, the three of us walked away from the station, and toward town. It had been fun, but I was about ready to get back to the old routine. Who knows...maybe we would get another case soon...

 _ **So ends volume 10 of The Drake Chronicles. I hope you all thought it was a fun little read. Budder and Scootaloo seemed to have found a really close friend in each other, and for once in the series, Drake didn't get mentally scarred, get beaten half to death or have to face death and the macabre. I guess we can count that as a win, right? Or maybe it was just a nice breath before the plunge...just you all wait for the next installment. It's not quite as Beaver Cleaver as this one...well, I'll go as far as to say that it's not quite as warm and fluffy as Volume 6...nor is it as relaxing and cheerful as chapter 2. I will begin the next story sometime at the start of next week, probably monday. Until then, thank you all so much for reading. -Drake**_


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